Tag: Joshua Sharfstein
Md. awards $16 billion, 10-year contract for health insurance
Top state officials on Wednesday approved spending $16 billion over the next 10 years on health insurance for over 200,000 state employees, retirees and their dependents. One of the largest contracts ever granted, the three-member Board of Public Works approved it at a meeting dominated by discussion of the positives and negatives of health care delivery in Maryland, including serious patient care problems at a state hospital in Hagerstown.
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Analysis: Health Exchange Mess Part I: Failures in leadership
In a two-part series Thursday and Friday, retired auditor Charles Hayward (full bio below) delves into the problems that led to a disastrous launch of the Maryland Health Benefit Exchange in fall 2013. Among the chief failings of state leadership: not addressing serious red flags when there may have been enough time to fix the root causes; not appreciating the monumental tasks assigned to limited resources; and (3) not selecting one IT expert to take leadership on the website’s development.
Read MoreRascovar column: Stonewalling Md. Health Exchange probe
The Maryland General Assembly concludes its 2014 session Monday in good shape – except for one monumental omission: the mystery surrounding Maryland’s fatally flawed health exchange, which has squandered uncounted tens of millions of dollars.
It’s now clear that both Gov. Martin O’Malley and Lt. Gov. Anthony Brown are content to stonewall and impede any detailed investigation of what went wrong in setting up the Maryland Health Benefit Exchange until well after the June 24 primary election.
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Rascovar: When Obamacare website failed, Oregon took a different approach than Md.
Oregon’s website for the Affordable Care Act failed in many of the same ways as Maryland’s but the governor there ordered an independent probe and dealt with the problems differently than Maryland officials have.
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Whistle blower at disabilities agency fired by O’Malley-Brown administration, she alleges
For two years, MarylandReporter.com has been covering the financial problems with the Developmental Disabilities Administration. The following story by Mark Newgent was published Wednesday evening on Watchdog Wire-Maryland. Rather than just linking to it, we are publishing it in its entirety as it uses court documents to describe corruption and fraud at DDA as alleged by a whistle blower later fired.
Read MoreState weighing delay of Jan. launch for small business health exchange
An abrupt cancellation of a series of small business exchange workshops by Maryland health officials has fueled speculation that for the second time this year the launch of the small business health insurance exchange, known as SHOP, will be delayed.
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Analysis: Audits show problems have plagued Md. Developmental Disabilities Admin. for years
Developmental Disabilities Administration failed to collect millions, overpaid contractors, didn’t reconcile costs, made questionable vehicle purchases, and adjusted accounting records without explanation. The problems are so bad and so persistent that an outside turnaround consultant has been hired to help fix them.
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Advocates of therapist abuse bill call for removal of professional board
After an unsuccessful bid to criminalize the sexual abuse of patients by their therapists, supporters of Lynette’s Law are demanding the removal of some key members on the Board of Professional Therapists and Counselors (BOPC) — their biggest opponents in last session’s bill hearings.
Read MoreDisabilities agency now ‘in the red’ after underspending for years.
Maryland Health Secretary Joshua Sharfstein told a town hall meeting in Columbia Tuesday night that the troubled Developmental Disabilities Administration has made significant progress since discovering $34 million in unspent funds last year.
“It looks like we’re in the red” by $4 million or $5 million for the fiscal year that ended June 30, “which is a good thing for this agency,” Sharfstein said, “but we don’t know yet.”
$390 million rise in state employee health insurance raises concerns about costs and quality
Maryland’s Board of Public Works voted Wednesday to increase spending authority on health care benefits for state employees by nearly $390 million. Budget Secretary Eloise Foster said the increase would pay for more people joining the state’s plan since the original health care authorization in 2008. Comptroller Peter Franchot raised concerns about the quality of care the added costs would pay for.
Read MoreLegislation proposed to implement health care exchanges
Health Secretary Joshua Sharfstein and Lt. Gov. Anthony Brown testified at two hearings this week on the bill to implement the federally mandated health care exchange, creating a “mini-marketplace” for the uninsured and small businesses.
Read MoreBoard approves $297M new Medicaid system
The 20-year-old Medicaid computer system is getting a $297 million upgrade, the Board of Public Works voted unanimously on Wednesday.
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